State legislators think so, too, and last month approved a bill to protect bears, timber wolves and cougars, which one day could become a permanent part of state ecosystems.

But for police and animal control officials, the bear presented a new problem, namely what do you do when 6-foot, 250-pound bruin shows up in a neighborhood and it’s wearing fur, not cleats, pads and a helmet?

You track it, monitor it and put a chopper in the air.

“We had a helicopter up briefly,” said Winnebago County Sheriff Dick Meyers this morning, “but that wasn’t of much use. In wooded areas there are too many leaves, and it’s impossible to spot.”

Meyers said there were several reported sightings after Hutchinson saw the bear outside her home north of Rockford on Geddes Road about 10 a.m. Saturday, left the breakfast table and started taking pictures of the unusual visitor.

The last sighting was about 5 miles from Geddes Road in the 400 block of Roscoe Road about 1 a.m. Sunday.

“He’s moving north,” said Meyers.

Meyers said the bear hasn’t been aggressive, but he’s concerned that it’s near subdivisions and is likely to be attracted to backyard bird feeders, which could lead to human encounters. If you spot the bear, call the sheriff’s department at 815-319-6300.

“As long as it is not posing any threat the public, our stance is to leave it alone,” said Sgt. Laura Petreikis of the Illinois Conservation Police.

Meyers said wildlife officials suggest that if you see a bear, just leave it alone. Don’t run from it. Slowly back away from it. Chances are, Meyers said, the bear will want to get away from you, too.

Meyers said animal control officials have a tranquilizer gun and have consulted with a veterinarian on the proper dosage to use. They also considered getting a trap but were told by state officials it would take two days to get it here. Killing the bear would be a last resort, he said.

So now they’re just trying to keep tabs on the bear, which may just be passing through the area. The sheriff’s department said a bear had been seen recently in Freeport and Stockton, but they don’t know if it is the same one.

Page 2 of 3 - Bears are rare here.

“I’ve never seen one in the county or heard of one in the county,” said Lee G. Johnson, former Burpee Museum of Natural History director who has been chronicling flora and fauna here since 1943.

But populations in Wisconsin have risen over the past two decades and bears are expanding their range to the south and southwest. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources estimated there were 9,000 bears in the state in 1989. A 2008 study estimated there were 26,000-40,000 bears. Bears are occasionally seen in Grant County which shares a border with Jo Daviess County in northwest Illinois.

State officials believe that bears, cougars and timber wolves, which have all strayed into Illinois, may become permanent residents. Last month both houses of the state legislature approved a measure to protect all three predators. The bill, which hasn’t been signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, would make it illegal to kill, possess or sell the animals or any of their parts.

The law would allow the state to manage apex predators, something IDNR Director Marc Miller urged legislators to approve after a cougar was killed last November in Whiteside County.

“While we believe this and other recent confirmed mountain lion sightings are isolated occurrences for now, we have been actively preparing for the time when mountain lions, wolves, and black bears may once again establish populations in the state,” Miller wrote in a January IDNR newsletter.

If social media is an indicator, there is great interest in bears.

Hutchinson’s photos went viral on Facebook and Twitter. Chicago media picked up the story, too, and sent reporters to Rockford to interview her.

Hutchinson, who taught science in the Rockford School District, said she was surprised by, not scared of, the bear.

“We’re hikers so we’ve been in bear country a lot,” she said. “You just respect them.”

While a wandering bear through northern Illinois is rare, Hutchinson said she thinks it’s a sign of environmental stress on a planet. She cites a NASA study indicating that nearly 40 percent of the forested area within the mid-Atlantic sub-region alone showed a significant decline in forest canopy cover between 2000 and 2010.

“I like to thing this bear is trying to tell us something, that the loss of trees, green spaces and habitat is making it difficult for wildlife,” said Hutchinson.